What are the effects of the activities to develop working memory that I have developed for KS3 Science lessons on the WM and hence the science attainment of KS3 students?

Abstract

Working memory (WM) has neuroplasticity and is important for learning. Secondary school students underachieve in KS3 Science due to having a weaker WM. Domain specific activities to develop WM may increase WM and hence, increase domain specific attainment in students. In this study, Science specific activities are used that were created with the aim to develop WM. A cohort of 171 Year 7 (11-12 years) students were placed into six teaching classes for starting secondary school as part of normal school protocol. The classes were randomly assigned to an active group (N=86) or a control group (N=85). For one and a half academic years the active group had three Science lessons a week which included Science specific activities to develop WM. The control group had three Science lessons delivered with no intervention. Students’ WM was measured pre- and post-intervention using a WM assessment called Lucid Recall. Throughout the study students completed a range of Science assessments and student questionnaires as well as interviews. There was no difference between the active and control group’s WM or Science attainment. However, the findings do indicate that the active group students have some conceptual links (a correlation) in cognition between WM and the students' knowledge & understanding of Science. Quantitative data findings show there are significant correlations between WM and Science attainment in the active group that were absent in the control group; a regression analysis of the post-test WM assessment and End of Year report attainment showed a summative value of 0.234. Data from student questionnaires and interviews support this demonstrating that, these conceptual links (a correlation) in cognition between WM and the active student’s knowledge and understanding of Science may also be related to changes in the active student’s perception of memory, learning Science and metacognition.